Equity in Education: Culturally Relevant Teaching

What does it mean to be a culturally responsive teacher? Being a culturally responsive teacher means you have the ability to relate to people not only from your own culture, but to that of others as well. Culturally responsive teaching is your ability to engage and appeal to all learners in your classroom using unique teaching strategies, even those with distinct backgrounds. This is much more than simply knowing and understanding the background of your students. We live in a multicultural world, and incorporating these teaching strategies are becoming more necessary in order to create a successful learning environment where all students are able to thrive.

As we complete our first week of this 2019-2020 school year, have you started to build a culturally relevant community in your classroom?

1.      How have you gotten to know your students?
2.      How have your students gotten to know you?
3.      How have your students got to know each other?
4.      How have you begun to make your classroom a safe and welcoming judgment-free zone?
5.      Are the pictures and posters you have in your room representative of ALL students?
6.      How are you going to include all cultures in your teaching?

Options for developing positive relationships

Learn from Your Students:  Learn about your students through questionnaires, asking about interest, surveys, gathering information from learning styles, holding open discussions allowing students to talk about positive experiences from past classes and teachers.

Interview Students:  Individually ask students questions regarding how to pronounce their names, do they have a nickname, their hobbies, favorite subjects, activities, sports, pets, movies, books, learning style.

“For all students to excel, teachers must learn about them and connect with each child.  This is not just about finding out how they learn, but it is finding out who they are.”

– George Couros